I live in Canada. And in Canada, we do Thanksgiving a little differently. For one, it’s in October. For two, although a family celebration, it’s not the giant holiday it is in the US. But, it still involves a lot of food.

This year, I’m really trying to focus on what I’m thankful for and I’ve come up with a few things.

1 – My family, near and far. My husband and I live in western Canada. Both sets of parents live in eastern Canada. Our siblings don’t even live in this country. (Mine is in the states, Chef Husband’s is currently in Jordan). It’s hard to always be away from family during these “family” holidays, but then we’ve created our own little family here which brings me to …

2 – Our friends, near and far. Our friends span the entire length of Canada and we have a few in the states as well. We are lucky though – some of our closest friends live right next door. It is with them (J-Money and family) that we spend holidays. We could up a feast each Thanksgiving and Christmas (I think we’re going on year 4 of doing this). She cooks the turkey; I cook the ham. She does the potatoes; I do the sweet potatoes. She does stuffing; I do a gluten-free version. She does gravy; Chef Husband does gf wine gravy. We have it at her house; I bring dessert. The kids play, we talk, and we feast.

3 – Our health. We have our little health issues with some celiac disease floating around, a little man that’s prone to severe bouts of croup, a little girl who reacts to many vaccinations, and various other things that pop up but you know what? I’m thankful for all of that. It could be so much worse. And, the things that we have experienced have taught us so much and made us able to help others.

4 – Our physical bodies. This has been a difficult year for me – anxiety has taken a front seat and made me really work to lead a normal life. Yoga has helped me so much in mind, body, and soul. We are intact, and we are able. For that I give thanks.

5 – Our lives. Over the last few years we have been to too many funerals. Chef Husband and I have each lost a grandparent. I lost a dear uncle. And I lost a cousin at far too young an age. I miss them all.

Thanksgiving reminds us to give thanks, to express gratitude and to share love. Hug your family members. Hug your friends.

And please, eat.

This is my kitchen. It’s little and it drives me crazy, but I can cook up a storm in this bad boy. Today, I’ve done just that.

I made sweet potato casserole today. I made this a couple of years ago and everyone loved it. It’s also really, really easy to make.